PORTFOLIO of articles by Aidan O'Rourke

Manchester's streets aren't paved with gold

Szymon, Justyna, Kinga and Jan are all second year students at Krakow University in Poland. They came to Manchester to find summer jobs, improve their English, meet new people and most importantly to save some money. Wage levels in the UK are around six times as high as in Poland. Unfortunately things didn't quite work out as they'd hoped.

Justyna and Kinga enquired at many pubs and bars but didn't manage to find jobs. Szymon and Jan have the possibility of some short term manual work which they found through an agency.

"There are too many people and not enough jobs" says Szymon. "I read in a newspaper in Poland that over one million Polish people have come to the UK".

A good command of English is an important factor in getting a job, though that depends on the type of work. In manual jobs, language skills are not so important but where there is contact with the public, you must be able to speak English fairly well.

"We applied for jobs in a casino," says Kinga. "I have very good references from Poland but they are written in Polish and were of no use. I think you have to speak English very well and understand the dialect."

In Poland most people learn American English and often find British regional accents difficult to understand.

So Justyna and Kinga are taking the bus back to Poland, while the Jan and Szymon stay here in Manchester for another few weeks before returning home.

They will all take with them a positive impression of the Manchester. They are keen on the mixture of old and modern architecture and the fact there are people from all over the world here. Negative factors include the lack of a decent river, and Manchester's night life. They say it's much better in Krakow as the bars stay open all night.

Justyna sums up: "People here are very kind. They have helped us a lot, especially our Filipino friends who we met at the church". The others nod their heads in agreement.

For anyone looking to come from abroad to work in Manchester their advice is as follows:

Don't come in the summer. The best time is March or April.

Try to make contact with people who are already here. They can help you find work and accommodation

Try to secure a job before you leave, possibly through an agency or via the internet.

Any questions or queries about Manchester? Please contact via the guestbook.

You are looking at a page on the legacy site of Aidan O'Rourke Photographer, Videomaker, Coach in Languages and Photography. This is an archived page and is no longer updated. Some information may now be out of date / inaccurate. Please go to the home page www.aidan.co.uk for up to date information. Thank you, Aidan O'Rourke